B00022: NOS Hydrographic Survey , 1985-08-16

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the statutory mandate
to collect hydrographic data in support of nautical chart compilation for safe navigation
and to provide background data for engineers, scientific, and other commercial and
industrial activities. Hydrographic survey data primarily consist of water depths,
but may also include features (e.g. rocks, wrecks), navigation aids, shoreline identification,
and bottom type information. NOAA is responsible for archiving and distributing the source data as described
in this metadata record.

These hydrographic data are made available to the public for a wide variety of uses,
such as sea-bottom characterization, habitat classification, coastal studies, boundary
issues, and tsunami forecasting. These data are not intended to be used for navigation.
Nautical charts produced and certified by NOAA should be used for navigation purposes.

Hydrographic Surveys for Selected Locations Within the United States (hydro_bathy_2006)

Keywords

Use Constraints

No constraint information available

Fees

None

Lineage information for: dataset

Lineage Statement

NOS Survey data is collect by surface vessels of varying characteristics. The three
primary sources of survey data are NOAA survey ships, national response teams, and
contract vessels. The ships collect data, conduct basic on board data processing and
then send these data to NCEI (formerly NGDC) for archival and "RAW" data. After archiving
the RAW data NCEI sends the data to the processing branches (Atlantic or Pacific)
for further processing. The processing
branches complete processing of these data and generate products. The processed
survey data is sent to NCEI for archival and the products are sent to the Hydrographic
Surveys Division (HSD) for approval. Once products are approved by HSD, these survey
products are sent to NCEI for archival and posting on-line.